Every test and lab provides ranges with their results, but what do the ranges really mean? When you look at your results, you will often see “high” or “low” and always a value of “your result.”
It wasn’t until several years back when I was studying more about labs, blood work, and results that I learned a very important lesson that has impacted my understanding of blood work.
That is … “normal” or “average” does not mean healthy and optimal!
Over the years, these reference ranges used by many in the healthcare space have changed. As we learn more about importance of various biomarkers, we, as Practitioners, can help our clients and patients make more educated decisions.
I love using Vitamin D as a great example. Conventional healthcare and reference ranges’ stand is that a level of 30 is “normal;” however, we now know that while a level of 30 may absolutely be “normal,” it is not “optimal!” The hormone Vitamin D is required for over 400 processes in the body therefore having a level between 50 & 80 would allow for a more “optimal” functioning body system.
At Virtual Clinic, when we result out your client’s results, we provide a red/yellow/green spectrum scale to make evaluating the results easier. We recognize that there are many schools of thoughts from some incredibly smart folks who have their own specific functional ranges. It would be impossible to incorporate them all, so the spectrum helps quickly eye results.
If you as a practitioner are ready to dive deeper into understanding blood work results, we partner with some amazing coaches.
REFERENCES: